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Jackie Estacado
Jackie Estacado is a former hitman for, and heir apparent to, the Franchetti Mafia. He is also the bearer of the Darkness- an ancient and elemental force that requires a human symbiote- and the Avatar of Death. At the time of Shades of Gunmetal, he is still a Franchetti hitman and unaware of his powers. Early Life After the death of his parents at a very young age, Jackie was enrolled at St. Mary's Orphanage where he spent the majority of his childhood. He was later adopted by Paulie Franchetti, the capo famiglia ''of the Franchetti Mafia, and groomed as an assassin and enforcer. Much of his teenage years were spent fighting in the conflict between the Franchettis and their rivals, the Russoti family, until both families agreed to a cease-fire in order to deal with the Punisher. Jackie was the first to become aware of Castle's displacement to Los Angeles, and with the blessing of the Chicago Dozen, led a group of men in pursuit. After some investigation, they discovered one of Castle's safehouses and assaulted it, but were repelled by Castle and his protege, Amanda Young. Jackie was wounded in the battle, but managed to escape, returning to New York with this information. Paulie Franchetti did not react well to Jackie's report of their failure, setting Jackie up to be eliminated by the O'Leary Mafia on the night of his twenty-first birthday. Jackie was sent to assassinate the foreman of a construction site with ties to the O'Learys, but was again seriously wounded, this time by an explosive device planted by the Franchettis. It was at this point that the Darkness made itself known to Jackie, utilizing its powers to heal him and cut through the remaining O'Leary soldiers. When word of Jackie's survival reached Paulie, he ordered that Jenny Romano be taken hostage and St. Mary's be torched. Both goals were accomplished, and Franchetti, alongside his associate Eddie Shrote, baited Jackie into attempting to rescue Jenny within the burned-out structure, where the Darkness betrayed him and allowed Franchetti to execute Jenny. Moments later, Jackie committed suicide, using the same gun that Franchetti had used. Antul and Vengeance Following his suicide attempt, Jackie awoke in Antul, the plane of existence from which the Darkness draws its power. After managing to fight his way to a small village, Jackie discovered his great-great grandfather, Anthony Estacado, who provided him a clearer explanation of what the Darkness was. Anthony advised Jackie on a means to escape Antul, enabling Jackie to return to Materius. On his return, Jackie set to disrupting as much of Paulie's operations as possible, eventually killing Eddie Shrote in an explosion that sent him once again to Antul. This time, Jackie made an effort to better control the Darkness, communing with the Four Horsemen and acquiring the First Guns, as well as the knowledge necessary to force the Darkness to submit to his will. With Anthony's help, Jackie assaulted a fortress on Antul, fighting his way through a number of aberrant creatures to an altar. While Anthony continued to keep the creatures at bay, Jackie performed a ritual imparted to him by Death, ultimately doing battle with a human avatar of the Darkness and overpowering it. Per the rites, the Darkness submitted to Jackie, but not before its thralls managed to butcher Anthony. Jackie returned to Materius once again to settle his score with Paulie Franchetti, gaining the support of the Chicago Dozen and their respective crime families to eliminate Franchetti and any who stood with him. This resulted in Jackie striking against Paulie in the latter's isolated mansion during a solar eclipse, enabling him to bring the full power of the Darkness to bear and decimating Franchetti's forces. Ultimately, Jackie was able to confront and kill Paulie Franchetti, but found himself beset by the Brotherhood of the Darkness soon after. Battling the Brotherhood (Note: during this time, Jackie encounters and temporarily enlists the help of Johnny Blaze, on the condition that he owes the Ghost Rider a favor.) The Vampire Wars Following Johnny Blaze's recruitment into Blade's efforts against a rising vampire threat, Jackie agreed to contribute to the cause, arriving at the Nightstalkers' headquarters shortly before Task Force Gladius. A brief confrontation ensued between Frank and Jackie, but was defused by Blaze, with whom both had decent rapport for and to whom they each owed a favor. Despite the fact that the Darkness' powers were generally suppressed by the Nightstalkers' light-based weapons, Jackie proved to be a capable force in combat during the Vampire War. His abilities proved pivotal in the Nighstalkers' retreat from the subway tunnels, as well as in the Siege of Athin, where Jackie's ability to generate anything out of the Darkness granted his comrades access to Belabrithol's keep. In the wake of the siege and Amanda Young's infection, Jackie voted against euthanizing her, establishing a measure of mutual respect between the former hitman and Frank. Though Jackie's contributions during the assault on Nihilus' derelict and the razing of Forks were comparatively minor, Jackie's ability to summon darklings proved invaluable during the defense of Fort Miller, serving to pad the depleted ranks of the 707th Special Operations Group. During the Battle for New York, where his powers were unimpeded by any strong source of light, Jackie and his darklings comprised an entire combat element of their own, disrupting Noble kill-teams and escorting trapped civilians out of Manhattan. He was also personally responsible for slaying the reincarnated form of his deceased uncle Paulie and capturing the ''ashar that had been in Hoffman's service. Heart of Darkness